(Hopefully, prayerfully) fasting praise reports!

[Amethyst]

Hello, If you are reading this, congratulations, you just became a sort of fasting support partner! (If you would like me to support you in any kind of fast too, please by all means let me know and we can partner on fasting!)

In the meantime...

I plan to start a fast tomorrow evening. (There will be social eating in the day tomorrow.) This will be a 40 day and night fast. As I have mentioned on another post, I have learned that if I fast too strenuously food-wise, that I start to get sick with URIs & other little health concerns. So my food fasting will be mainly vegetarian fare with skim milk products and no deserts, with lots of supplements, water and olive oil and vinegar on salads.
I will have no wine and no grapes, kind of like the Nazarite fasts.

I have definitely felt called to get closer to the Lord through fasting, but somehow I have failed for quite some time to live up to my lofty goals there! After studying fasting in the Bible, I was surprised to see in Isaiah 58 "the fast that pleases the Lord" that there is no mention of food or drink whatsoever! However, it is my goal to try to align myself with what Isaiah does say is a good fast. This includes keeping Sabbaths holy.

I also want to "offer up the sacrifice of praise" a lot. From some people I have read (like Frank Laubach and Brother Lawrence) and from others' testimonies and my own experience, I believe that heart felt ongoing praise to the Lord is what really brings us into His Presence, where we feel such great joy and get His maximal blessings.

Also, I plan to spend an hour a day in my "prayer closet." This seems like the hardest part some times! There is so much pulling on one's time from the world. But I think at this particular season and time in my life that I can do it, and further that the Lord is calling me to do it.

Don't want to bore people with too many more details. Hopefully, prayerfully, I will be giving praise reports of success here! If so, this Board and people here will have been very helpful.

 

[riverpastor]

Amethyst,
I see your vegan fast and raise you a solid food fast.

Let you know how it goes...

 

[Amethyst]

Riverpastor - How wonderful if I have a fasting partner already!

Actually mine will not be a vegan fast, though, I don't think as apparently vegans do not have milk products. I'm going to allow myself any kind of skim milk products. I am a "milkaholic" and assume my body must need lots of calcium.

What is a "solid food fast."

Will be praying for your success & mine.

 

[Amethyst]

Two good days and nights of fasting just about completed.

Blessed be thou o' El Shaddai, and thank You Abba, in the Name of Your only Begotten Son Yeshua.

 

[Amethyst]

Okay. I'm going to have to start over. Hope it's not just an excuse but...I work in the school system and this week has involved a schedule that makes it more difficult to put in that extra hour of prayer closet and still get enough sleep. Things tend to slow down a bit about this time of year, and I am getting caught up somewhat now, though. So...

I am going to start over on Yom Kippur, which starts at sundown on Friday. It seems not a bad idea to begin a 40 day fast on the day of Atonement. It starts with no food or water for 24 hours, according to traditions for Yom Kippur. (This will be my first time to celebrate it.) No water may be tough, but I'll give it a try and if reeealy thirsty, will just drink a littel bit of water.

 

[Amethyst]

I got counsel, and felt led of the Lord, that drinking water was okay for Yom Kippur.
It has been a good day.

Blessed be thou O El Shaddai, Creator and Ruler of all that is, seen and unseen, and thank You my Abba, in the Name of Yeshua Your only Begotten Son, that He, Yeshua, fasted 40 days and nights in the desert for us, feeling the ugliness of our temptations and the ugliness of the devil's deceptions for us, and praying for us, so that He could begin His Ministry for us here on earth, the Ministry that would ultimately cause us through and in Him to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil.

 

[Amethyst]

Day and night #2 of fasting completed.

Blessed be thou O' El Shaddai, Creator and Ruler of all that is, seen and unseen, and thank You my Abba, in the Name of Your only Begotten Son the Lord Yeshua that He, Yeshua, is for us the Lion of the tribe of Judah Who defeats the evil lion for us, so that we can have victory in every good feat.

 

[Amethyst]

Another d & n of fasting successfully.

Blessed be thou O' El Shaddai, Creator and Ruller of all that is, seen and unseen, and than You my Abba, in the Name of Your only Begotten Son the Lord Yeshua, Your perfect Lamb slain to redeem us from the hand, the chains therefore, of the devil.

 

[Amethyst]

Feeling a little low blood sugar-y today, so ate some more plain, natural shredded wheat, and added some powdered oatmeal to some skim milk. Even fresh fruits did not help - so far, though. Will wait and see if I need to add any additional food items. I know the Lord does not want me to get sick. Otherwise, though, a good d & n on this fast.

Praise be to You O' El Shaddai, Creator and Ruler of all that is, seen and unseen, and thank You my Abba in the Name of Your only Begotten Son the Lord Yeshua, that He shed His Blood to wash away our sins of the past (and the present, and the future!) and that Your mercy - in particular for the will and the way to love You/obey You more and more - is new every morning.

 

[FranklinNoble]

Good luck to you! I will pray for your successful fast.

 

[Amethyst]

Franklin, how kind of you. Thank you so much! I have prayed for you and yours, also. (Wow. You sure have a lot of blessings.)

Another good day on this fast.

Blessed be thou O' El Shaddai, Creator and Ruler of all that is, seen and unseen, and thank You my Abba in the Name of Yeshua Your only Begotten Son that I am sticking to this fast and that the Blood of Yeshua continually cleanses us from all our sins.

 

[FranklinNoble]

Franklin, how kind of you. Thank you so much! I have prayed for you and yours, also. (Wow. You sure have a lot of blessings.)

Another good day on this fast.

Blessed be thou O' El Shaddai, Creator and Ruler of all that is, seen and unseen, and thank You my Abba in the Name of Yeshua Your only Begotten Son that I am sticking to this fast and that the Blood of Yeshua continually cleanses us from all our sins.

Thanks... I got the blessings because I donated to the site...

Glad to hear your fast is still going well!

 

[Amethyst]

Franklin - "Donate" as in money, as in posts, help???

 

[FranklinNoble]

Franklin - "Donate" as in money, as in posts, help???

Money.

There's an option on the blue bar (near the right hand side) at the top of this page to donate money to this website. You get a very healthy helping of blessings (along with some other perks) for helping to pay the bills around here.

 

[isaiah5213]

amethyst:

i too, am starting a fast.. i was on only fruits and veggies... & i want to continue on w/it, .. first i wanted 7 days, only liquids.. then continue w/fruits and veggies only..until a particular personal prayer is answered in my home...

i am happy to fast and pray w/you!! i keep praying evertime my tummy wants to growl..

 

[Amethyst]

Franklin - Hmmm...I will have to make a contribution to the Board then, for it is a blessing to me to be able to post here. It helps. Thanks for telling me.

Hi Isaiah! I will certainly pray for you to have a good, and healthy fast. Your "handle" is so appropriate, to me anyway, regarding fasting - as Isaiah 58 is my #1 source of info and inspiration on fasting.

My Abba, in the Name of Yeshua HaMashiach, Your only Begotten Son, I thank You for the gifts to and through "isaiah 5213" and his family, and for all the mercies You will have ever shown them, especially through the Blood of Yeshua. I thank You that Yeshua is our
Way, our Truth and our Life, our Wonderful Counselor, our Wisdom, and our Great Physician. And I ask You my Abba, in the Name of Yeshua that He, our Savior, impute to "isaiah5213" the wisdom needed for the fast, the way to do it, the truth about the fast, and the life/strength to do it, and that He keep this child of yours
healthy, and lead him to blessings in His prayer requests, according to Your most perfect merciful will. Amen.

Another good d & n of fasting.

Blessed be thou O' El Shaddai, Creator and Ruler of all that is seen and unseen and thank You my Abba in the Name of Yeshua Your only Begotten Son for the fasting successes and that, through the Blood of Yeshua I am acquitted, not guilty, considered righteous, made righteous, justified just-as-if-I'd never sinned.

 

[Amethyst]

Another good d & n of fasting.

Blessed be thou O' El Shaddai, Creator and Ruler of all that is, seen and unseen, and thank You my Abba in the Name of Your only Begotten Son the Lord Yeshua for the good progress on this fast, and for the Blood of Yeshua [i.e. His sacrifices for us] through which Your people are santified, set apart to You, separated from sin and made holy with Your holiness. (Wow. What an amazing concept!)

 

[Ginga]

I'm not meaning to sound rude or judgemental, but isn't fasting meant to be a thing between you and God. I always thought that it was meant to be kept to yuorself. I don't know, that's just what i was told. Can someone tell me the answer please?
Thanks a lot, God bless you all

 

[Amethyst]

Ginga - I think that is a legitimate question. It is my understanding that we are not to brag about fasting, or put on a "show" about it. I am not here to brag, but to get support! While I am at it I am trying to glorify the Lord in my own little way, as a form of gratitude. I think it is perfectly okay with the Lord for us to turn to others for support in our efforts to conform more to His will, in fact I'm sure He wants us to help one another. That seems to be the whole purpose of this section of the Forum here - mutual fasting support - and I think it is great.

I know that not all fasts are private in the Bible. There are fasts commanded for people in fact. For example, Yom Kippur is a great day of fasting for the whole nation of Israel. It would be very hard to do fasting in secret in Israel on Yom Kippur and there is no Biblical injunction to do so.
---------
Another good d & n of fasting almost over.

Praise be to You O' El Shaddai, Creator and Ruler of all that is, seen and unseen, and thank You my Abba in the Name of Yeshua Your only Begotten Son for keeping me on this fast, and also that, through the Blood of Your Son Yeshua we have access into Your Presence, into the Holiness place in Creation.

 

[The Smiling One]

When you get hungry, make some fresh squeezed lemonaid and instead of sugar add Grade B maple syrup. There is a cleansing fast that uses this as the only thing taken in for ten days. The syrup can ususally be found at a good health food store. The lemonaid must be made fresh everday. Made this way, it contains most of the nutrients needed. Also take an excellent vitamin supplement.